who will play 2nd base

[Beckett95]

i think the sox should resign graff for 1 more year till pedroia is ready. I like how the yankees handled cano last year bringing him up in the middle of the season and he had a great year.

Also, Nomar is willing to switch to second base and the redsox may be interested.

 

So maybe the Yankees will not ask Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez to play center field after all. But Nomar Garciaparra, a free agent, wants teams to know he would switch positions.

 

"I played third last year," said Garciaparra, standing alongside his wife, Mia Hamm, on Tuesday night in New York at the premiere of HBO's "Dare to Dream." The documentary focuses on Hamm, Julie Foudy, Kristine Lilly, Brandi Chastain, Joy Fawcett and the United States women's soccer team.

 

You do what you can do when you're on a team," Garciaparra said.

 

Garciaparra, a two-time batting champion with the Red Sox as a shortstop, batted .283 in 62 games with the Cubs last season. He played 34 games at third base because of an injury to Aramis Ramirez.

 

The Mets and the Boston Red Sox could be in the market for a second baseman. "I'm willing to play wherever teams ask me to play," Garciaparra said of a possible move across the diamond.

NY Times

[elsrbueno]

The sentimental side of me says it would be really cool to bring back Nomar Garciaparra for a 1 year, incentive laden deal and give him an opportunity to battle for the starting job at second base.

 

The realistic side of me says Nomar and the Red Sox didn't exactly part on good terms, so it's very unrealistic to expect it to happen.

 

I don't think I'm too far off base though saying Red Sox fans would welcome him back with open arms.

[yagmaster]

The sentimental side of me says it would be really cool to bring back Nomar Garciaparra for a 1 year, incentive laden deal and give him an opportunity to battle for the starting job at second base.

 

The realistic side of me says Nomar and the Red Sox didn't exactly part on good terms, so it's very unrealistic to expect it to happen.

 

I don't think I'm too far off base though saying Red Sox fans would welcome him back with open arms.

 

I have nothing to back this up with, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Nomar will be back with the Sox next season. He was definitely his happiest here.

[yeszir]

I have nothing to back this up with, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Nomar will be back with the Sox next season. He was definitely his happiest here.

Barring his final year. The fact that he missed out on the World Series win also doesn't help. But we still love him, and we still would love him if he came back. Not to mention the fact that I could wear his jersey again!

[yagmaster]

Not to mention the fact that I could wear his jersey again!

 

And I could go back to my old Screenname...

[Soxfan1]

If Nomar was back then Tix will be sold out forever. I would love to see ol Nomar back in Boston. This is his home whether Mia Hamn wants it or not.

[gosox613]

Yea but the truth is, he isnt that great anymore. I was watching epsn news and an analyst said that nomar would be a utility infielder, at best.

[Cityofchampions33]

espn also said the colts would kill the patriots in the playoffs last year, it doesn't confirm anything if 1 guy says something, I for one would love to have him start at secodnd, even for half a year until Pedroia is ready.

[Beckett95]

nomar did pretty good in the 60 games he played in last year. He batted .285 with 9 hrs and 30 rbi. If he could play an other full season at fenway, he can still probaly bat around .300 with 20 hrs.

[Cityofchampions33]

I would at least give him a shot to prove himself and get more value so some he can go back to the West Coast where he loves.

[Beckett95]

i think nomars going to get a big contract because of all the teams interested in him. The diamondback want him to play OF, SD wants him to play 2B and the Pirates want him to play 3B.

[riverside sluggers]

what does everybody think about the new trade the Padres are proposing that would send Mark Loretta to Boston?

[Beckett95]

i like the idea. how many years does loretta have left on his contract. If we could have him for 1-2 years then we could give pedroia a shot. He is not expensive (around 2-3 million i think) and was an allstar 2 years ago.

[yagmaster]

what does everybody think about the new trade the Padres are proposing that would send Mark Loretta to Boston?

 

To clarify, this deal would be along the lines of David Wells and Doug Mirabelli for Mark Loretta and possibly another player like Akiniro Otsuka, according to an article in today's Globe: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2005/12/03/ramirez_wells_bring_interest/

 

I think this would be a great trade for the Red Sox. David Wells has no real value to us as we have a surplus of young starting pitchers, and he as also asked to be traded. Mirabelli, while a popular player and valuable as a backup catcher, deserves a chance to play every day and will probably never get that chance with Tek locked up for the future. Loretta would be our starting second baseman, and is two years removed from being an All Star. He is cheap and plays excellent defense and will be an excellent mentor to the future of our infield, Dustin Pedroia. Akiniro Otsuka has had two good seasons after coming from Japan, and figures to have another good year. He could be that last reliever that we need to make our bullpen a strength. I think trading a disgruntled, old, bottom of the rotation starter who has asked to leave and a backup catcher for these two guys would be a great trade.

[Beckett95]

the only problem is can shoppach catch wakefield because we know varitek cant

[yankeessuck013]

I wonder.... has shoppach ever caught zink cuz hes a knuckleballer too?

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

This is a good deal. This gives Pedroia some more time and Loretta has an excellent on base percentage. He is also an excellent fielder and brings some good experience to the table. He seems like a Red Sox type player as well.

 

On the flip side I think both Varitek and Shoppach have time to work more extensively with Wakefield. They are both professionals and I'm sure they can figure it out. I like the idea of giving Shoppach a chance to show something....it could work out very well cause Doug didn't exactly have a good season last year.

[Beckett95]

i think shoppach could catch wakefield. i think one game last he might hav caught him.

[yagmaster]

Jason Varitek, the 2005 AL Gold Glove award winning catcher, can catch Tim Wakefield. The reason why he struggled in the past is because he doesn't. Given time during Spring Training, Vartiek will learn to be adept at it. I guarantee we won't be looking back on this deal (if it happens) and regretting trading away Mirabelli because of Wakefield.

[example1]

Agreed yag. Mirabelli is good trade bait. He is a starting catcher currently in a backup role, a veteran, he had a good season two years ago. We shouldn't be too attached to a catcher whose main claim to fame #4 or #5 pitcher. I don't think Wake will be around longer than another year or two anyway. Shoppach and Varitek should be plenty to get the job done, and if we can pull Loretta and Otsuka for Mirabelli and Wells that's a good deal for both teams.

 

I like how we tend to send players back and forth with San Diego. The sox seem to have a good relationship with them (Lucchino and Epstein were initially in SD right?).

[Beckett95]

good article on nomar from the providence journal

 

Rewind. Skip back two years, to December 2003.

 

Red Sox Nation is ecstatic about the acquisition of Curt Schilling, exhilirated about the possibility of trading for Alex Rodriguez, but angst-ridden about the prospect of losing Nomar Garciaparra. Garciaparra was regarded -- at least locally -- as the crown jewel in the Holy Trinity of shortstops (Nomar, A-Rod and Derek Jeter) and the thought of him in some other uniform was sacrilege. Even then, the only reason most of the fan base was embracing the idea of trading for A-Rod was the belief that Garciaparra would walk when he became a free agent at the end of the 2004 season. And most likely walk into one of the most lucrative contracts in baseball history.

 

Fast forward to the present.

 

Nomar Garciaparra is a free agent. The San Diego Padres are said to be mildly

 

interested, if Garciaparra is willing to play second base. Likewise the Pittsburgh Pirates, but only if he agrees to play third. The Arizona Diamondbacks have thought of Nomar as an outfielder.

 

Second base? Third base? The outfield? And it's not like San Diego, Pittsburgh or Arizona are destinations on baseball's fast lane.

 

The fall of Nomar Garciaparra, unfolding before our eyes over the last two years, has been one of the strangest -- and saddest -- stories in baseball. Injuries and time have eroded his skills, and suddenly a player who could have become one of the richest in history had he hit free agency in the early 2000s is in the market at the relatively young age of 32 1/2, hat in hand, seeking work. Any work.

 

"I'm willing to play wherever teams ask me to play," Garciaparra told the New York Times last week. "I played third last year [with the Cubs]. You do what you can do when you're on a team."

 

Jody Reed turning down a three-year, $7.8-million contract offer from the Dodgers after the 1993 season is regarded in baseball circles as the ultimate blunder in player negotiations. Reed bounced around the majors for four seasons after leaving Los Angeles and earned a grand total of $2.875 million over the rest of his career -- just about $5 million less than he would have made had he stayed in Los Angeles. (Red Sox fans should delight in Reed's misstep. To replace him, the Dodgers traded for Montreal's Delino DeShields. The player they traded? Pedro Martinez, whom the poverty-stricken Expos couldn't afford to keep when he reached superstar status and thus wound up in Boston.)

 

The question, though, is whether or not Garciaparra committed a similar gaffe (or two) in his dealings with the Red Sox.

 

In 1998, he agreed to an unprecedented contract for a second-year player: Five years for $23.25 million, with club options that extended the deal to seven years and $44.25 million.

 

The contract gave Garciaparra far higher salaries ($3.7 million in 2000, $7.5 million in 2001, $9 million 2002) than other players of his experience level during that time. But it also meant the Red Sox were buying out two years of free agency. His salaries in 2003 and 2004 -- $11 million and $11.5 million, respectively -- were lower than Garciaparra could have made had he been on the open market.

 

By contrast, Rodriguez was earning twice as much ($22 million a year) in '03 and '04, and Jeter was making $15.6 million and $18.6 million.

 

Had Garciaparra become a free agent after the 2002 season -- when he hit .310 with 24 homers and 120 RBI, with a .352 on-base percentage and a .528 slugging perentage -- it seems clear he would have signed a contract for more than the $11 million a year he was being paid. He would have earned less, certainly, from 1999-2002 than he actually did, but would he have made up for it with a longer, more lucrative free-agent contract? That's the unanswered, and unanswerable, question.

 

The other mistake was his decision not to accept the four-year, $60-million offer the Red Sox made after the 2003 season. The market had shifted downward by that time, and the $200-million contracts signed by players like Rodriguez andsManny Ramirezswere no longer available. Garciaparra, though, wanted A-Rod/Jeter money. He made the call to play out his contract and become a free agent.

 

And thus began the downward spiral: The foot injury. The trade. The ripped groin. And now he's out in the street, waiting to see who's interested.

 

Had Garciaparra become a free agent after '02, he would have been under contract somewhere -- for comfortable wages -- when the wave of injuries hit. Ditto if he'd signed the Sox' offer in '03. His reputation would be intact and he might still be at shortstop. And were he still in a Red Sox uniform, he'd still be the first-name-only, Hall-of-Fame-bound franchise icon ("Nomar!") whose departure from Boston was unthinkable not so long ago.

 

Strange as it seems, the Red Sox and Garciaparra would look to be a fit this offseason. The Sox need both a second baseman and a first baseman, and Garciaparra says he's willing to switch positions. The fan base certainly would love it. Garciaparra is still a productive hitter (he batted .321 in August and September last year, after recovering from the torn groin), and he actually figures to be one of the best players available via free agency -- and maybe one of the biggest free-agent bargains there'll be, even if his market value actually has been depressed by events of the last two years. His move off shortstop, where he's degenerated to substandard defensive levels, is a plus, too. But his return is unlikely as there's been no talk on either side of a Nomar/Boston reunion.

 

Be careful what you wish for, goes the old saying; it might come true.

 

Would that someone had told that to Nomar Garciaparra back when.

[ksushi]

I am not crazy about Garciaparra signing here UNLESS he plays second. If he came back to play second base, I would be a happy man. We have the injury insurance in Cora and Pedroia, and Nomah and Renteria would make some sort of double play combination that I dream about. No more throws from the hole for nomah would make me happy as well. I wouldn't sign him for first base like the orioles were said to want to do, and I wouldn't sign him for the outfield like the D-backs would like to do, but 2nd base would definetly be a thought. I would welcome good ol Ray back with open arms at second base.

[yagmaster]

I am not crazy about Garciaparra signing here UNLESS he plays second. If he came back to play second base, I would be a happy man. We have the injury insurance in Cora and Pedroia, and Nomah and Renteria would make some sort of double play combination that I dream about. No more throws from the hole for nomah would make me happy as well. I wouldn't sign him for first base like the orioles were said to want to do, and I wouldn't sign him for the outfield like the D-backs would like to do, but 2nd base would definetly be a thought. I would welcome good ol Ray back with open arms at second base.

 

I don't see him playing anywhere else. I don't see Renteria switching to 2B so Nomar can play SS, and I don't see Nomar playing 3B with Lowell, a Gold Glover and $9 million contract signee, on the team. He has never played other positions, so I think 2B would be the only fit for him on the Sox.

[elsrbueno]

I don't see him playing anywhere else. I don't see Renteria switching to 2B so Nomar can play SS, and I don't see Nomar playing 3B with Lowell, a Gold Glover and $9 million contract signee, on the team. He has never played other positions, so I think 2B would be the only fit for him on the Sox.

 

Playing second base for the Padres might be pretty tempting to a California native like Nomar, and with LA locking up Rafael Furcal to play short they're probably not interested in Nomar. What are his other options?

 

3rd base for the Pirates? outfield for the DBacks?

 

If I'm Nomar Garciaparra, I want a chance to PROVE I can a) stay healthy and stay productive offensively for a while season, because I want to be able to ink a long term deal after 2006 with someone who'll make me an everyday player.

 

If I believe I'm capable of doing that (which I'm sure he is), I look to sign a one-year deal with a team in playoff contention and/or in a big market so my comeback gets media attention. I'm not going to get that in Pittsburgh or Arizona, and it's debatable whether or not that happens in San Diego. No, my top choice teams would be the three teams that get the most nationwide media coverage: The Mets, Yankees, or Red Sox.

 

The Yankees are full in the infield, and MIGHT play Nomar in left field if he'd accept that role.

 

The Mets would love to add a righthanded power bat but already have Kaz Matsui at second base and Nady, Beltran, and Floyd in the outfield.

 

The Red Sox are looking for a SHORT TERM answer at second base. A veteran who can bridge the gap until Dustin Pedroia is capable of playing second base full time. Nomar needs a short term deal with the opportunity to prove himself..... seems like a perfect match if you ask me and if the likes of Tellem, Garciaparra, and Lucchino can forgive hard feelings between them.....

[MC Hammer]

To clarify, this deal would be along the lines of David Wells and Doug Mirabelli for Mark Loretta and possibly another player like Akiniro Otsuka, according to an article in today's Globe: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2005/12/03/ramirez_wells_bring_interest/

 

I think this would be a great trade for the Red Sox. David Wells has no real value to us as we have a surplus of young starting pitchers, and he as also asked to be traded. Mirabelli, while a popular player and valuable as a backup catcher, deserves a chance to play every day and will probably never get that chance with Tek locked up for the future. Loretta would be our starting second baseman, and is two years removed from being an All Star. He is cheap and plays excellent defense and will be an excellent mentor to the future of our infield, Dustin Pedroia. Akiniro Otsuka has had two good seasons after coming from Japan, and figures to have another good year. He could be that last reliever that we need to make our bullpen a strength. I think trading a disgruntled, old, bottom of the rotation starter who has asked to leave and a backup catcher for these two guys would be a great trade.

 

Thank you for proving my point. Loretta had 2 good season in his career, and the last was 2 years ago. He's aging, and after last year theres going to be the concern of re-injury. Why not just hold on to Tony G? He was spectaular after joining the Sox last year(if I'm not mistaken he hit nearly .400), and I really want to see what he can do in a full season with the Sox. I don't know if you guys remember last year but Tony was a MAJOR part of getting us to the playoffs. Also trading Belli makes it awful tough for us to send Wake out there every 5th day. I think Tek made it obvious that he cannot catch Wake, and I strongly doubt Shopp or any other catch we pick up would be able to either. I dont see how that trade would help this team at all. I understand we need more help in the bullpen but I just don't see this trade benefitting the Sox.

[riverside sluggers]

Wakefield with no Mirabelli would be a significant downgrade, wasnt his ERA up near 8 this season when Varitek caught for him?

 

---------------------------------

 

As for Tony G Ive been a longtime advocater for him staying onboard with Boston ever since I heard a trade was done in July to acquire him. Something would have to be worked out since Tony is seeking a 2 or 3 year deal as a starter, which he does deserve to have.

[Sizzlin22]

I love how Nomar says "You do what you can do when you're on a team." But when we needed him to play in the 13 inning epic agaisnt the Yankees at the stadium his Achilles was bothering him.

 

I would like to see him back in a Sox uni, but I just don't see it happening.

[MC Hammer]

I love how Nomar says "You do what you can do when you're on a team." But when we needed him to play in the 13 inning epic agaisnt the Yankees at the stadium his Achilles was bothering him.

 

I would like to see him back in a Sox uni, but I just don't see it happening.

I loved Nomar to death when he was here but those days are over. I've already coped with losing him and I think we're better off without him now.

[eZ_d0eS_iT]

I honestly have no clue where Nomar might end up, locally, there is talk either the dodgers or angels might take a shot and sign him to a short term, incentive laden contract, but without a guarantee of a starting job - making him earn it in the spring. For pure nostalgia, I'd love to see him play 2nd w/the sox, but I think that bridge was burned long ago. And I may be wrong about this, but Lucchino doesn't strike me as the forgive & forget type.

 

After his performance once he came back from injury last year, I feel comfortable with him wanting to prove all the critics wrong about him being washed up. I still think injuries aside, he's still primed for a breakout year that could lead to one last final lucrative deal.

[example1]

Wakefield with no Mirabelli would be a significant downgrade, wasnt his ERA up near 8 this season when Varitek caught for him?

 

---------------------------------

 

As for Tony G Ive been a longtime advocater for him staying onboard with Boston ever since I heard a trade was done in July to acquire him. Something would have to be worked out since Tony is seeking a 2 or 3 year deal as a starter, which he does deserve to have.

 

I'm fine with keeping Tony G. Whatever.

 

Isn't it kind of dumb though to keep a mediocre catcher simply to keep a mediocre pitcher? I know, I know, wakefield was the sox best pitcher last year, yada yada, but he's basically another version of wells and none of us would probably say wells is worth taking up 2 roster spots for.

 

I'm not saying get rid of wakefield, but the sox should not have to give a roster spot to his own catcher. It would have been a tough call if PEDRO had his own catcher, with Wakefield it shouldn't be much of a concern if shoppach is ready to step in and give it a shot.